City players stay away from the tournament

Deepankar Sharda 

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 5

You would expect budding paddlers to fill the galleries if a veteran like Sharath Kamal is in action, but a low turnout of spectators for the PSPB Inter-Unit Table Tennis Championship at the Sector 23 TT Hall here shows that the sport remains unpopular among the local masses. 

The centre has almost 500 registered members, including the players but empty chairs greet these world class players. 

“May be due to working days no one comes to see the matches…On the contrary, there was no one even on Sunday (February 3), when the championship began. I don’t know about the region’s major sport, but one thing is for sure that table-tennis is not among the famous ones. The tournament should also be promoted at the local level so that more and more people could come to the venue,” said a concerned Sharath. 

“It’s shocking that even the local players are not bothered to come here and watch these players in action. It’s like a Ranji match in cricket. The players are playing exceptionally well and it’s a genuine chance for the youngsters to learn from them,” said Harbhaksh, a former Himachal coach.

A local coach, managing the tournament, said the players were well aware of the event but they were more concerned about their studies. 

“Players from other regions do better than our players because they follow the culture. In north, especially in a city like Chandigarh, the players and their parents are more concerned about academics. The players from other parts are more involved in the game,” said the coach. 

The championship will conclude on February 7 and there is no entry fee for the spectators.